Veela Snakes and Troubled Lions
by niccoyne12
Summary: Draco is a veela, Harry is his mate. Draco must come to terms with the fact that Harry is always going to be conflicted, or must he? Can he change the mindset of one of the most stubborn Gryffindor's in Hogwarts history? RATED FOR A REASON!
1. One Unhappy Veela

**Veela Snakes & Troubled Lions.**

"Can I go looking Father? Please?" The young veela pleaded.

"No Draco you can't! You are not going searching for your mate yet! First you must report to the prefects' carriage and receive your orders as well as meeting the new prefects and Head Boy and Girl!"

"But Dad! I can smell them! The smell is driving me stone fucking crazy! I need to find them" Draco put on his best pleading look. But before it had a chance to work, Draco was hit by the most powerful scent. He spun around and looked to see who had just walked passed him. His head was spinning like a runaway carousel and his vision became blurred. He tried to fight the darkness, but suddenly the darkness took over him, everything went black.

Needless to say, Draco was not a happy veela when he woke up, in his own bed, in Malfoy Manor. He jumped out of bed and summoned a house-elf.

"Shelagh go get my father and send him up here immediately please.!" As the house-elf disapparated, no doubt to his father's private rooms, Draco went over to his full-length mirror. Ever since his 16th birthday he had looked different. His complexion was paler, his hair was darker and his face was more oval shaped. He was better looking that ever! He grinned at his reflection. He could not wait to see Pansy 'the Prostitute' Parkinson's face when she realised that he had come into his inheritance!

"You sent for me?" Draco turned around, momentarily surprised. Then he shouted at his father,

"Yeah! What the Holy Fuck am I doing back here? I should be at Hogwarts searching right now!"

"Calm down my Dragon. I sent Severus a message and he has told Dumbledore that you had a slight shock when you got the scent of you mate and were taken home for the day. You are to go back this morning. Dumbledore has organised a portkey for 10am so get dressed!" Draco simply stared at his father for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and walking over to his sofa and sitting down.

"I'm sorry!" He said "This is just so frustrating! I know where my mate is, but I don't know who they are or anything!"

"Hey Dragon, you think you have it bad? At least when you find your mate you can be with them! I've been with my mate for 26 years and we still cant bond because of a stupid old bastard who has never known what true love is!"

"I know! But at least you can see Sev and talk to him and be with him, and basically do whatever you want with him to a certain extent! I still don't know if my mate is a Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff!"

"You will soon enough, now get dressed! We have to leave soon"

"Why cant we apparate instead, I hate portkeys!"

"Because Dumbledore does not know that you can apparate and he would never believe that I took you on side along apparition, considering the fact that the Dark Lord has supposedly made that impossible for Death Eaters! Also I don't want you apparating next to your mate and giving them the shock of their lives! Anyway, Im going to be staying at Hogwarts so I can keep an eye on you, and be with Severus at the same time! So hurry up and get dressed!"

Lord Malfoy left his heirs room and closed the door behind him. Draco sat on the sofa for a few more seconds mulling over what his father had said. True his father had not yet bonded with Severus after 26 years, but he still felt the need to be close to his mate. That was one of the most romantic things about Veela love! Draco walked into the bathroom whistling. Whoever his mate was, they were one lucky Bitch of a bastard! He let the warm water pound his forehead then got out of the shower and dressed for the day. He grabbed his wand and a packet of sugar quills he had left on his table, shoved them into the pocket of his robes and hastened down the stairs to his father. He had to get to Hogwarts before he exploded with excitement and Desire!


	2. The Search

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter I merely enjoy dabbling in unusual parings from the series!**

**A/C Thanks to MistoMeshai** ** for doing the beta reading!**

When he arrived at Hogwarts ten minutes later, he could smell his mate already. Just from the Entrance Hall. The smell was coming from the great hall.

Thank Salazar and all his snakes he thought that will make this sooooo much easier! He walked into the Great Hall closely followed by his father.

"Now Son, you have to stay at your table and eat while I go and talk to professor Dumbledore. You are forbidden from searching for your mate until I get back!"

"But Father!"

"No buts. Sit and eat you will feel better when you do!" Draco went over to the Slytherin table and sat down. The only bearable person at the table was Theodore Nott. The rest of the year were in classes. Well all of Draco's, so called, friends were anyway! Nott had come into his inheritance too. However where Draco got his inheritance from his father, a true Veela, the last true veela in Nott's family was his Great Grandfather. Therefore Nott's appearance had only changed slightly i.e. His eyes were darker blue than before ad his hair was only a shade paler.

"Mornin' Malfoy"

"Hey Nott"

"Wazzup? Oh, Right! I totally forgot, so do you know who it is yet?" Nott was practically hopping out of his seat in excitement. It wasn't everyday the Malfoy heir got to see who was worthy of their affections.

"No I don't and it's really pissing me off. My fucking bastard of a father wont let me go searching until he comes back. No I will not calm down, not until I have found my mate!" He added as Nott opened his mouth with a slightly worried look in his face. He quickly turned back to the table and continued eating his waffles. Draco also turned to the table and grabbed the goblet of water that had appeared in front of him. He started sipping, willing himself to calm down and not to have a fit in a state of anger.

His father returned twenty long agonising minutes later. Thankfully, of all the amounts of people who had left the great hall in that short space of time, Draco's mate wasn't one of them. Draco surveyed the students who had not left and quickly analysed that is wasn't a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin. He casually walked past the Ravenclaw table. So that left the Gryffindors. He walked towards their table, hoping against hope that it wasn't Mudblood or Weasel. Whoever it was they were very anxious and very upset. He could tell. He walked the length of the table at the side where Granger and Weasley were sitting. It wasn't anyone there. He stopped at the head table. He quickly transfigured a napkin into an envelope and left it in Severus' place. He then turned and walked up the other side of the Gryffindor table, he could feel his mate getting closer, suddenly he stopped. On the pretence of fixing the sleeve of his robe, he looked to see who he was standing beside. When he turned he nearly threw up.

As quickly as he could, he left the Great Hall. Closely followed by his father and Nott.

"So who is it" they both asked in unison. Nott was jumping from foot to foot in excitement a look of nervous anticipation on his face. Lord Malfoy however looked worried, the frown on his forehead making him look older instantly. He was worried about Draco. For a Veela who had been pestering his father about his inheritance for the entire summer, Draco did not look exactly overjoyed. As they waited for the answer to their question, Draco stopped and leaned against a wall.

"Son...?" Draco looked up at his father, a green tinge marring his handsome complexion he shook his head, looked from his father to Nott and back again. He looked his father in the eyes and stated very clearly

"Harry Potter" Before collapsing on the floor.


	3. Cant Get You Out Of My Head

Harry was walking down to Herbology with Ron and Hermione. He was in a great mod, he had just received his timetable and they did not have a single class with the Slytherins all day. He was delighted. That meant no Malfoy to throw snide comments at him or attempt to jinx and or hex him! He grinned broadly and started laughing at Ron and Hermione's argument, about S.P.E.W no less. As usual Hermione refused to see reason and would not stop harassing the first years to join. Most of them did out of sheer terror. Although he enjoyed the reasonably friendly argument and the freedom from the Slytherins, one particular Slytherin was preying on his mind, Malfoy. Why had Malfoy acted so strangely in the Great Hall? He had looked like he had swallowed a poisonous bug. Harry grinned even more at the thought and decided not to worry about it. Besides he had more pressing worries to contend with. The had walked out into the courtyard and a group of fifth years were walking towards them. Ginny separated herself from the group and came over to the trio. Ever since their kiss during the summer Harry and Ginny had been quite awkward around each other. Ginny came over and said

"Hi" Then without even looking at Ron or Hermione she walked directly up to Harry and said

"Harry what's happening now? We cant avoid this, we need to decide what we are going to do..." Her sentence was cut short by a roaring hot kiss. Harry had decided what they were going to do.

'I mean who cares' He thought 'I'll go out with her, she's a nice girl, I mean as long as she doesn't want to get married or anything' and kissed her. They stood there for several minutes or it could have been a couple of hours or possibly several sunlit days, but when they broke apart there was a crowd around them. Then several people wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of nervous giggling. Harry ignored it and looked at Ginny, she looked back at him and then, by way of an answer to his unasked question, kissed him again. This time when they broke apart, Harry immediately looked for Ron. Ron had always been very protective of his younger sister. After a few seconds he spotted Ron in the crowd, he was wearing an expression equivalent to have been clubbed over the head. For a second they simply looked at each other. Then Ron gave a slight shrug as if to say

"If you must" Suddenly the bell rang for the start of class. As everyone started to dispersed, terrified that they would be late for class, Harry whispered to Ginny

"We'll finish this later" she grinned as he turned and caught up with Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked delighted.

"I knew it" she said. Ron however remained silent and stony faced. Only one thing preyed at Harry's mind as they jogged the last few meters to the greenhouse, why was the only thought in his head, while he kissed Ginny, of Draco Malfoy? And why couldn't he forget the incident that morning?


	4. The Letter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I merely enjoy dabbling in unusual pairings from the series.**

**There was no beta reading done on this chapter so sorry for any mistakes made!**

Harry was preoccupied all through Herbology. His emotions were in turmoil. He was still surprised at what had happened between Ginny and himself and he also still had the incident with Malfoy on his mind. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that when he finally pulled his mind back to what he was supposed to be doing; his Mandrake was still in the soil in the first pot. He decided to do this quickly and, after preparing the pot in which to put the mandrakes, he pulled out the screaming little bundle, he quickly cast a silencing charm and put it into the pot. He hurriedly did the same with three more mandrakes, nearly dropping the third one in his haste. While he was clearing up Dragon dung, Hermione tapped him on the shoulder,

"What" Harry asked

"Look out the window" Harry turned to the right, "Not that one, behind you" Harry spun around, Hedwig was sitting there. He got up and went to the window. Hedwig hooted in a friendly sort of way. Harry quickly untied the scroll attached to her leg and stuffed it into his pocket. He stroked Hedwig happily for a minute or two. He knew who the letter was from. He just hoped it was a sign of good news. He stopped petting Hedwig for a moment and looked around for a watering-can. There wasn't one close enough for Hedwig to get a drink, without being seen.

"Sorry Girl" He said" You are going to have to go to the Owlery to get a drink" she nipped his finger affectionately and took ff. Harry went back to his table and finished clearing up. Just as the bell rang Professor Sprout gave them their homework;

"For the next day I want a foot long essay on the reason we use silencing charms on the mandrakes while moving them. Class dismissed" Luckily for Harry the trio had a joint free period just then. As they entered the common room Harry looked around. He saw Neville, Dean and Seamus studying in front of the unlit fire. Harry signalled to the other two to follow him. They went up to the boy's dorm and sat on the beds. Ron and Hermione sat across from Harry on Ron's bed.

"The letter came" said Harry as he pulled it out of his pocket. "I've been waiting all summer for this; wherever he is he must be ages away!" Ron and Hermione looked at each other then back at Harry; they looked as if Christmas had come early.

"Do you mean that's the letter from...?"

"Yep" Harry nodded

"Open it" the other two replied, in perfect unison.

"Alright here goes nothing" He opened the seal on the scroll. He read it through silently once. The more he read, the more excited he became. He then read the letter aloud;

"Dearest Harry..."

**sorry for the shortness of the chapter, the next one will be longer, depending on the reviews I get of course(",)**


	5. Dearest Harry

'Dearest Harry,

I hope I find you well and Happy. Please forgive the length of time between my letters. I must not let the others know that I am in contact with you. They are already annoyed at me for siding with Dumbledore. My task is becoming exceedingly difficult however I have found a couple of members of the group who have decided to join on our side. Their names are Francis, Penelope and Hans. They are all young and eager. The main reason they joined on our side is because they have not been here long enough to have been influenced. I am still working on the rest of the pack. I am hoping to get a few more to join our side before the next Full moon in three weeks. For at the full moon, they usually change their minds. But if I can get them to come back to London before then I can give them the potion and they will not recruit more members for the pack.

Also I have been in contact with Arabella and she has decided to become an active member of the Order. As you know she has been staying in Grimmauld Place, while her leg is healing, after the accident over the summer. She has been at most of the meetings and as she is not employed by the ministry can go out and tell people about the Order without getting fired or put in Azkaban. I am coming home in three weeks before the full moon and might be able to visit you in Hogwarts if I get permission from Dumbledore. This shouldn't be a problem, considering I have new members for the Order. I have also decided to talk to Tonks. I have been in contact with her all summer via owls and I have noticed a very strong connection between us. I have decided to propose Harry. And although I would have chosen either your Father or Sirius for the job, I have decided that I would like you to be best man. I feel that you are mature enough for this, as you have been through so much, a little speech, in front of a few friends and family should not be a problem. I look forward to seeing you in the near future and I hope you will accept my offer. By the way, please don't say anything to Tonks as I am going to surprise her with the proposal when I come to Hogwarts. Please give Ron and Hermione my fondest wishes. Be careful and don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Yours truly,

Remus Lupin.

Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione. The two of them were smiling and looked delighted.

"See I told you! I knew he was going to ask her to marry him! I just knew it." Said Hermione.

Ron shook his head

"I still can't believe it. It's really unexpected." Harry was reading the letter he smoothed out the bottom of it and noticed a post script.

"Wait there's more!"

'P.S Harry I do not wish to alarm you, but I have information concerning Draco Malfoy. He's a Veela Harry. And this summer he came of age and will be searching Hogwarts for his mate. This will spark off a jealous streak. So if you are around a person a lot and Malfoy seems to get jealous, then you are probably standing wit his mate. However I do not think you should worry. There has not been a Slytherin/Gryffindor Veela bonding in about three century's. Just be on your guard. A jealous Veela can do great but terrible things if aggravated. Be careful.'

"Hey" said Harry "that could be it! That could be the reason why Malfoy was acting so strangely in the Great Hall. He was looking for his mate."

Hermione nodded "That could explain it" she said Ron wasn't so sure.

"I didn't notice anything." He said. "He was just a bit quieter than usual."

"Yeah" Replied Harry "But didn't you notice when he walked past me at the table? He looked like he'd swallowed a poisonous bug and" Harry stopped and then it came to him

"No" He and Hermione said in unison. "Oh my Goodness, Harry"

"What?" Asked Ron, he was not taking kindly to being left out. Especially when he didn't know what was going on in the first place.

"Ron don't you get it? Draco is a Veela and Harry is his mate!"

Ron suddenly started "What?" "Harry is Draco's mate"

"I think Im going to throw up" Ron said

"Right there with you." replied Harry. "Why does everything always happen to me? Now not only do I have half the bloody girls in school after me, but I have a Veela pumped full of testosterone after me too. It's not fair."

"Nobody said life was going to be fair Harry. You are just going to have to bond wit Draco and learn to live with it!"

"What" Shouted Harry and Ron.

"You have to bond wit him! If a Veela doesn't bond with his mate within a year of coming into his inheritance, he will die!"

"Yeah so? What do I care if Malfoy dies?"

"You would care! You cared when Cedric died, yet there was nothing you could do about it! He was your only competition to win the cup and yet, you still cared that he was gone!"

Harry started to interrupt, "I know they are different situations but, this time you can save the life of your 'competition' you can do something about it. Last time you couldn't."

Harry stared at Hermione, her words made sense, yet he still couldn't imagine being bonded to Draco Malfoy for the rest of his days.

"It wouldn't be so bad" said a vice at the back of his head. "He's actually an ok bloke; you just don't know him very well. You never know you could adjust to it"


	6. Stubborn Gryffindor?

**Author's note:** I am so sorry for the lack of updates. Travelling around the world can cause that. I would like to point out that this chapter is completely my work, no beta. So if you have a complaint about the grammar or spelling or anything, then give me your e-mail and you can fix it! Also this chapter was, originally _**much **_longer, this is about 1/5 of it, but I have a really bad head cold and dont have the patience to type it all out. I Hope you all understand.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any related trademarks or indicae, they are all copywrite of WB and JK Rowling. If I owned them, there would be an 18's rating on all the books;-)

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**Ch. 6- Draco.**

When Draco woke up he was in the hospital wing. His father was beside his bed on a chair fast asleep. Draco sat up and made himself comfortable. Then he started to think. He now knew who his mate was, which was a relief in itself. The problem was, his mate. No way would Harry ever consent to bond with him. Draco sighed. For five years he had mocked, scorned, jeered at, and tortured Harry Potter, and now it had come back and bit him hard in the arse. He wished that he had been nicer to Harry. In fairness to himself though, he had offered to be friends with Harry. The very first day they met on the train, Harry however had declined his friendship and Draco became his worst nightmare. Now Draco wished things had turned out differently. However he could not change the past, so for now he would have to concentrate on Harry, his mate Harry. Beside him his father stirred. Draco waited, knowing that his father disliked being questioned first thing after waking up. Lucius stretched and looked around,

"Dragon, you're awake, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine father, apart from a slight headache and the fact that I now have to find a way to get a stubborn Gryffindor to bond with me."

"Don't worry about that right now son. Let's just get Madame Pomfrey to check you over. Then get you something to eat and get you to your room.

"But dad I have classes!"

"No you don't. I have explained everything to Dumbledore and he has agrees that you can have the rest of the day off, and tomorrow if you need it."

Before Draco could even begin to protest Madame Pomfrey came over.

"So young man, you decided to come back to us. Well then let's see how you're doing shall we?" She cast a quick diagnostic charm. Draco suddenly felt very hot then very cold, before going back to normal.

"Well everything seems to be ok apart from the lump on the back f your head. I assume that's where you hit the wall. Guaranteed that's what's causing that headache. It will pass soon enough."

"How soon can he leave?" Lucius asked.

"As soon as he can get up and walk around without feeling dizzy or needing support." Draco promptly tossed back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. No sooner had he stood up than he had to sit back down again.

"Maybe I shouldn't have moved so fast." He commented after his head had stopped spinning.

"Yes perhaps, maybe you should stay here until after dinner time, I can give you something to help the headache and dizziness."

"That would be great thank you"

"Would it be possible for him to have a visitor?" Lucius asked.

"I don't know, it would depend..." at that moment there was a knock on the door. "I'll be right back"

As she backed away Madame Pomfrey cast a quick charm to close the curtains around Draco's bed.

"I need to see Harry father, soon."

"I know my dragon, but you have to stay here until Madame Pomfrey says you are ok to leave."

Suddenly Madame Pomfrey poked her head around the curtain.

"You have a visitor Mr. Malfoy." Draco groaned. He knew it was going to be that bitch Pansy.

Two seconds later a body came through the curtain. Draco jumped up,

"Harry!"


	7. Confusion

**Authors Note: **I'm baaaack! You all thought I had forgotten about this fic didn't you? Well I didn't and I do plan on trying to update more often. I dont think it will be extremely often mind you, this fic will probably get updated once a month for the next while, I have exams and things to do as well. But I do have an outline of the following chapters, so at least I have a plan. Some of you may want to read the start of the fic again, before continuing, I know I had to. I still want to update the first few chapters, but that will have to wait. I just want to say that I am sorry for the MASSIVE gap between this update and the last, I am going to try my very best not to have it that long again. Oh and this chapter was un-beta'd and I dont think I will be having this fic beta'd at all to be honest. Anyway, on with the fic!

**DISCLAIMERS:** I am not JK Rowling and I do not own the characters in this fic. I merely play with their personalities and make them do things that Jo couldn't have put in her books without losing that G rating!

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"_It wouldn't be so bad" said a voice at the back of his head. "He's actually an ok bloke; you just don't know him very well. You never know you could adjust to it"_

Harry shook himself mentally. He couldn't understand what was happening, everything was coming at him from all angles.

_As usual _his subconscious reminded him. Harry tried to make sense of what he had just discovered. He was used to processing information quickly, but this was too much. He needed to get away, to think.

"I'm going to fly. I'll talk to you guys later." Hermione nodded, she understood how Harry was feeling. Ron however was still in a state of shock and simply stared at Harry. As Harry stepped through the portrait hole he could have sworn he heard Ron say

"At least this will keep him away from Ginny." But it could have just been his imagination.

Harry walked slowly to the Quidditch pitch. He grabbed his broom out of the shed and walked onto the pitch. He mounted the Firebolt and took to the sky. He circled the pitch a few times, reveling in the feeling of the cold air on his face and the rush of the wind in his hair. He did a few weaves around the goal-posts before heading higher into the night sky. At the higher altitude he slowed down. It was easier to think from there. He tried to organize his thoughts; to figure out where his priorities lay. He had already accepted the fact that he could not run from this. He had learned before that it is impossible to fight the truth when it is staring you straight in the face. But he still had problems. What about Ginny? What about the animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor? What about all the things that had happened in the previous years? Could it really all just fix itself so easily? Harry doubted it. The most pressing question on his mind however was Ginny. He had kissed her just this afternoon, and he had liked it. Even as he remembered the kiss Harry found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Malfoy. Who would have the upper hand?

_Probably Malfoy._ He mused. Then Harry realized something much more significant.

_Why am I not freaking out about this? I mean, its Malfoy! He's a __guy__!!_ As usual his subconscious had the snide answer ready for him.

_Oh cop on! You've had a thing for him for years and you know it. You've always had just as much interest in blokes as in girls. _

Harry sighed. He knew this was true. But it didn't make it any easier. How was he supposed to put behind him the last 5 years of animosity and threats? How could he just forgive Draco for everything he had said and done? It felt strange to use Draco's given name, but not in a bad way. Harry had to admit that even _thinking _the name gave him a nice feeling. The fact that he had been thinking about Draco while kissing Ginny only seemed to strengthen this feeling.

Ginny.

What was he going to do about her?

_She's not going to like this one bit. I know it was only a temporary thing, but I don't think she will understand that. Although . .Veela bonds are supposed to be absolute, unbreakable. Ginny couldn't possibly fight with that could she?. . .Then again, she really does seem to like me. . .ugh WHY are women so damn complicated? Do they actually try to make life for guys difficult? _

By this time Harry had flown in many loops around the pitch and it was getting very late. Although he still hadn't decided exactly how he was feeling, he touched down and stowed his broom back in the shed. A glance at his watch told him that it was well after midnight. He glanced up at the castle. Many of the rooms were dark, but most of the lights in the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers were still on. Harry could see that the light in Gryffindor common room were still on. He figured Hermione and Ron were waiting for him, but he didn't want to talk at the moment. He wanted to figure this out on his own. He walked inside and immediately headed up the nearest stairs, kicking himself for not bringing the map. On the fifth floor he met Ms Norris. He stood still at the top of the stairs as she stared at him. Sh turned away and walked the opposite way down the corridor. Harry quickly bolted up the next flight of stairs, no doubt the damned cat was gone to get Filch. Harry made his way, as quietly as he could, to the corridor on the seventh floor where there was a blank stretch of wall opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by a group of trolls. The door appeared as he approached, almost as if it was expecting him. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was fairly small it contained a small comfortable looking couch, a small table and shelves of books. Harry threw himself on the couch and sighed. He had no idea what he was supposed to be thinking or feeling. He was just very very confused. No, confused wasn't the right word, conflicted was closer. He knew that if he was right and Draco Malfoy really was his mate, then there was no way he was going to be able to ignore it. Even if it wasn't for the slight crush he had on Draco, Hermione was right; he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew someone had died when he could have stopped it. But there was a part of him that longed for Ginny all the same. He enjoyed being with her, he enjoyed spending time with her. He couldn't think of a time when he wouldn't want her with him.

_But only as a friend. You know that deep down. You have never liked her as more than a friend. You need something more than that, you need the strong comfortable relationship where you will take care of your partner and be taken care of in return. You need the sort of bond that you have been offered. You wont admit it to anyone, but you need a stable relationship and the love and support that comes with it. No amount on friends can ever fill that space._

Harry sighed again. He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't like it. He rose from the couch and left the room. He made hi way towards the portrait hole.

"And what are you doing out this late?" the Fat Lady demanded of him.

"I had some things to take care of. _Lion heart." _The Fat Lady gave him an appraising look and swung forward to allow him in. To his relief, Harry found the common room empty. He climbed the stairs to his dormitory, he opened the door quietly. Luckily the room was filled with deep heavy breathing and the sound of Ron snoring. Harry grabbed his cloak from under his bed and the map from the top of his trunk. He quickly covered himself in the cloak and left the room as silently as he had come.

He waited until he had gotten past the Fat Lady,

"If you get caught I knew nothing!" she called after him, and then pulled on his cloak. Once under it he pulled out his wand and laid it on the map,

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He searched the map. He found Filch patrolling the first floor, Ms. Norris was on the third floor near Umbridge's office and Snape was wandering around the dungeons. He couldn't find Malfoy anywhere and he really wanted to take care of this now. It took him a few minutes too locate Malfoy's dot on the map, accompanied by Mr. Malfoy and Madam Pomfrey. Harry was momentarily startled by the surge of panic and worry that flooded him when he though of what incident could have led to Draco being in the hospital wing. He hurriedly stored the map in his pocket and walked, a lot faster than he normally would have, in the direction of Draco Malfoy.

Upon reaching the hospital wing, Harry nodded gently on the door. He had no doubt that the quiet noise would echo in the room, or that the touch sensors on the door would alert Madame Pomfrey to a presence. Sure enough, about thirty seconds later the door opened.

"Harry, is there something wrong?" Madame Pomfrey whispered. She already had her wand out, ready to inspect him.

"No ma'am, actually, I'm here to see Draco." Harry could hear exactly how nervous he sounded, even in a whisper, and he knew that the medi-witch knew of the animosity between himself and the young Malfoy. Therefore he was nothing short of shocked when the woman stepped aside,

"I was hoping you would come. He needs you." Harry blushed slightly at this, what exactly did the witch know? "He is in the second last bed on the left, his father is with him. I will let them know you are here."

Harry nodded his thanks and followed her towards the bed she had indicated. The curtains were drawn so he could not see the boy in the bed behind them. There was however a whispered conversation being held. However, much as he hated to intrude, Harry felt more and more drawn to the bed with every step. The closer he got the more he realised that there was no way he would be able to turn away. The attraction he felt to the bed was like a magnet pulling him closer and closer, unrelenting in it's power. Harry paused outside the curtains and allowed the medi-witch to interrupt the conversation,

"You have a visitor Mr Malfoy." As she backed away she gave Harry a look. Harry didn't have time to even register the look, he took a deep breath summoned the famous Gryffindor courage and stepped through the gap in the curtains.

"Harry!"

* * *

Draco sat bolt upright in the bed when he saw Harry walk through the curtains. Harry stood shyly beside the bed. He felt compelled to touch the boy in the bed. To fall into the strong arms and remain there. The strength of the emotions washing over him and the worry the caused him must have been evident on his face, because Mr. Malfoy stood up from where he was sitting on the end of the bed and motioned for Harry to sit down.

"I know it's disorientating Harry, but trust me, you will get used to it." Harry was startled that man had used his first name, but nodded all the same. Draco moved so that he was sitting beside Harry facing him. He reached out slowly and took Harry's hand. As their fingers entwined together Harry sighed,

"What's wrong?" Draco asked. He was delighted that Harry did not flinch away from the physical contact, in fact he noticed that Harry even seemed to want it, but he couldn't ignore the waves of confusion and pain coming off the dark haired boy. Something was obviously troubling him.

"I just don't know what to think. This is all happening so fast. I mean this afternoon I was with Ginny and I was happy and now -" Harry was cut short by a hiss from Draco who was turning a violent shade of puce.

"You were with the Weaslette?"

"Yea" Harry answered, "We. . .erm . . .we. . ."

"Draco, relax my son." The elder Malfoy cut Harry off, "Let it go, nothing happened." While Draco looked down, studying the fingers that were still entwined with his own, Lucius gave Harry a look. Harry knew not to mention Ginny after that, he also knew that the long haired man cared deeply about his son and did not want to seem him hurt. Instinctively Harry gave the pale hand in his a gentle squeeze,

"I'm sorry ...Draco" Draco visibly relaxed and he let out a long breath,

"I'm the one who should be sorry, I over-reacted."

"It's ok, you have a good reason." Harry smiled weakly.

"I suppose I do don't I? I just can't stand the thought of. . ." he stopped talking. Draco knew that just because Harry was with him, it by no means meant that he would stay. Draco would have to be incredibly careful about what he said around Harry until their bond was consummated, Harry could still freely leave until that moment. Although, if his instincts were correct, and he highly doubted they were wrong, Draco could sense that Harry was already committing himself to the bond, he already wanted it, needed it. Draco smiled to himself as he studied the face of the boy beside him,

_He's beautiful. _He thought, _how did I never notice before?_

Harry was staring at the hands that now lay in Draco's lap, he liked the feel of Draco's hand in his. It felt comfortable, it felt right to be there. His eyes drifted to Draco's face, it was then that he noticed that he was being stared at.

"What?" he asked..

"Nothing. It's just . . . .you're beautiful." Draco answered, his voice filled with awe and admiration.

Harry blushed,

"Not compared to you." he replied without even thinking, he immediately wished he hadn't said anything, until Draco replied,

"Well then you need new glasses."

* * *

Sometime in the course of this conversation Lucius had left the cubicle and was now talking to Madame Pomfrey.

"I have reason to believe that Harry will want to stay here tonight."

"Of course sir. Draco will probably be fit to go to his own quarters tomorrow at lunchtime, Harry may stay until then."

"Thank you."

"Of course Mr. Malfoy"

* * *

**Authors Note: **Like it? Hate it? Wish it was shorter/longer?? Let me know! I haven't updated in ages so I need feedback, I need to know if this story is really worth continuing. Click the convienently over-sized button that in just under this page, please? Cookies for everyone who read it:D Love you all!

Yours in Fiction,

Nicole


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